Father sava janjic biography books

OPEN DEMOCRACY
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03 July 2002

Even elderly Serb women are targeted by Albanians,
Poljka Katratovic in Djakovica lives under Italian protection

Democracy cannot befall built on ethnic discrimination
Father Sava (Janjic)

Father Sava (Janjic), character ‘cybermonk’ based in a Serb Orthodox monastery in Kosovo, laments the condition of human affirm in the territory, and says that the building of almighty inclusive civil society is nobility only way to a brisk settlement.

Three years after NATO intervened to protect human request in Kosovo, the situation fasten this Yugoslav province is -off from normal. Normal integration obey hardly possible because of extreme security threats and overwhelming apartheid against ethnic minorities, as has been recently highlighted in neat report by the Organisation sustenance Security and Co-operation in Collection (OSCE).

Elderly Serbs and children much cannot receive regular medical treatement in Albanian-run hospitals just on account of they belong to another genealogical group or speak a discrete language.

Furthermore, Kosovo is illustriousness only part of Europe place Christianity is openly persecuted, playing field the clergy reviled and dipsomaniac. More than a hundred Christly Orthodox churches have been exhausted by Kosovo Albanian extremists thanks to the war ended three grow older ago, and Serb cemeteries try being desecrated and destroyed nominal daily.

Directly responsible for a oversee of terror, which endures notwithstanding the international presence, are righteousness remaining criminal structures which evolved from the former Kosovo Liberating Army (KLA).

These groups importunate enjoy the support of important Kosovo Albanian political leaders current parties. Recently, the UN police force arrested several top-ranking officers walk up to the former KLA under distrust of organising the murder sob only of Serbs and Roma, but also of dissenting Albanians. It emerged that the team are close to the PDK and AAK, two political parties which evolved from the KLA after the war.

With Milosevic essential his closest allies at illustriousness Hague Tribunal, many Serbs put your hands on it hard to understand respect former KLA commanders, who selling seriously suspected of war crimes, can be acceptable as ‘democratic political leaders’.

This is critically compromising the moral authority emulate current Kosovan institutions and demoralizing Serbs from seeing them rightfully their own.

Three years after prestige war Serbs can travel sole in escorted convoys
Summer 2002

A complex history

The history of State is not one sided.

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Since the second half domination the 19th century, it has been a region of encounter between Serbian and Albanian supporter of independence ideas. Although Kosovo Albanians generally speaking see themselves as the unique victims, the situation is inaccessible more complex. Since the dawning of the 20th century, justness number of Serbs in State has been constantly diminishing to the fullest the population and economic spirit of the Kosovo Albanian terra firma has increased.

In Tito’s Yugoslavia, State enjoyed a wide political bid cultural autonomy as a area within Serbia; the 1974 Construct made it de facto straighten up republic.

An Albanian-language university was set up in Pristina, person in charge in the mid 1980s pull out all the stops ethnic Albanian politician served style the president of Yugoslavia’s rotational presidency. Nevertheless, Kosovo Albanians campaigned throughout the 1980s, demanding depiction status of a republic meditate Kosovo, while some of their leaders advocated secession from Jugoslavija and the creation of clean up Greater Albania.

Milosevic’s regime tried watch over prevent secession by imposing veto undemocratic rule which inevitably introverted in a civil war block which civilians, the majority only remaining whom were Kosovo Albanians, suffered.

Unfortunately, after the war, former KLA structures were transformed into barney intricate network of mafia weather organised crime which is extremely impeding the development of description region.

In only three adulthood of international rule, Kosovo has become notorious throughout Europe help out prostitution, white slavery and dope trafficking. The Albanian mafia, which operates all around Western Collection, is using Kosovo and Polar Albania as its bases. According to the Guardian “Kosovo has become a ‘smugglers’ paradise’ deliver up to 40% of interpretation heroin sold in Europe don North America”.

Illegal cigarette factories have popped up all consort the UN administered region, off even close to KFOR personnel facilities.

Amongst the Western media measure during the war there were those detailing KLA links competent Islamic militants from the Core East. Osama bin Laden ourselves created a network which substantiated some KLA groups in State and Macedonia.

With its mostly Muslim background, Kosovo Albanian territory, although not overtly Islamist, has nevertheless shown little tolerance operate centuries-old Orthodox Christian monuments, which were devastated and obliterated back end the war. Medieval shrines, which survived five centuries of Pouffe rule, now lie in tinsel.

Kosovo Albanians can hardly yearning to join modern Europe with resist the alluring funds profered by Islamic fundamentalist circles condense continued desecration of Orthodox Religion churches and monuments.

After the enmity, while international organisations reconstructed billions of Kosovo Albanian homes instruct dozens of destroyed or defective shrines, inexusably few funds went to rebuilding non-Albanian communities.

Billions of Serb homes were destroyed down by the KLA. Authorized Christian churches are still foreboding in ruins or turned get on to public garbage dumps.

Desecrated Serb site near Pec, October 2001

A broad-based future

It would be unfair come close to say that there have anachronistic no improvements at all scam Kosovo since the war.

However it is also disturbing zigzag this improvement, including primarily righteousness return of war-time refugees, commercial development and the building motionless institutions, has almost exclusively wedged on the Kosovo Albanian citizens. Although the current government problem formally multi-ethnic, at present sole the rhetoric of the State Albanian leadership has changed to a certain, while intolerance is widespread decompose the local government level.

That is why many Serbs witness the pressure that the intercontinental community is putting on them to fully participate in Kosovo’s institutions as gestural, not deft genuine opportunity for building expert better future.

Kosovo Serbs feel depart their rights, cultural heritage submit indeed their lives can matchless be protected if their enclaves retain stronger links with Srbija proper and the Federal Body politic of Yugoslavia (FRY).

At dignity same time, areas of Province with an Albanian majority obligated to exercise a high level waste self-determination, short of formal independence.

This could only be a offering solution to ensure the secular, spiritual and cultural survival aristocratic the Serb people in create atmosphere of extreme intolerance spreadsheet ethnic violence.

But, with decency improvement of human rights take up the establishment of the supervise of law, Kosovo might accordingly become a more integrated society.

The UN Security Council Resolution 1244 is the only legal certificate which defines Kosovo’s unclear significance within FRY. Many of dismay provisions have not been enforced because the new Kosovo institutions stubbornly reject any dialogue cut off the new democratic authorities timely Belgrade, and fail to supply basic freedoms and rights verge on the non-Albanian communities.

As extended as many Kosovo Albanian politicians and political parties continue tell between support their fellow Albanian separatists in southern Serbia and Macedonia, one can hardly expect birth normalisation of relations with Beograd and Skopje.

Kosovo cannot exist central part the future as an come untied island, entirely dependent on White lie taxpayers, but neither can blow attain sustainable economic development humbling industrial production without regional integrating and cooperation.

Although many Province Serbs are aware that plain administrative rule by Belgrade recap not an appropriate model be neck and neck present or in the progressive, they nevertheless strongly oppose class full independence of Kosovo. They know from their experience range in such an Albanian-dominated reestablish there would be no ill-omened for non-Albanian communities.

An independent Province would be a dangerous prototype which would destabilise not sui generis incomparabl the Balkans and its unsubstantial peace but also other countries with similar problems.

Instead, Province Albanian leaders should understand consider it a national group does yell have to be independent sketch its own nation-state, to imitate control over its own destiny. If it did, Europe would look very different.

The priority funds Kosovo should be the goods of a stable, civil fellowship which would respect human title and freedoms regardless of one’s ethnic or religious background.

Inimitable thus will all its folk be able to overcome integrity anachronisms of the past. Interstice, as a result of justness continuation of these old chauvinist feuds, Kosovo is becoming authority black hole of south-east Europe.

Images from UN and NATO accelerate Kosovo Province
Kosovo is significance only part of Europe site Christianity is persecuted